Herniae: benign or malignant?

Inguinal herniotomy is perhaps the most commonly performed elective surgical procedure, either alone or as the first stage of a herniorrhaphy. During this procedure the peritoneal cavity is breached, and this may give an opportunity to the surgeon to diagnose a concurrent intra-abdominal pathology. The following three cases were taken to the operating theatre for routine herniorrhaphy by the author within a twelve week period.